Fully aware of its societal, social and environmental responsibilities, Safran implements a CSR policy that factors in the expectations of all its stakeholders: customers, shareholders, suppliers and employees.

Sagem signs support contract for STRIX sights on Australian Tiger helicopters

Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, 17 June 2009

Australian Aerospace and Sagem (SAFRAN group) today signed a contract for support services for the STRIX sights deployed on the Australian Army's 22 EC665 Tiger combat helicopters.

Australian Aerospace, a subsidiary of Eurocopter, assembles and services the Australian Defence Force's ARH Tigers.

Dr. Jens Goennemann, Chief Executive Officer of Australian Aerospace, and Jean-François Coutris, Executive Vice President of Sagem, in charge of the Optronics & Defense division signed the agreement at the Paris Airshow. This six-year renewable contract provides for a complete slate of customer support services, including maintenance, repair and spare parts.

Commenting on today's signing, Dr Goennemann proudly spoke of Australian Aerospace's commitment to strengthening Australian industry: "As well as our company's own industrial footprint, the Australian Aerospace Sagem agreement provides for a significant level of Australian Industry Involvement (AII), with Sagem Australasia located in Sydney Australia, performing engineering, repair and maintenance support activities".

Developed and produced by Sagem, the STRIX observation and sighting system supports all weapons on the Tiger combat helicopter: guns, rockets, air-to-air missiles with infrared guidance and laser-guided missiles. It features a daytime channel, an infrared channel and a laser designator-rangefinder. The STRIX sight is used on all versions of the Tiger*, either in service or on order, for Australia, Spain and France.

* The EC665 Tiger helicopter was developed and is produced by Eurocopter. A total of 206 are in service or on order for the following countries: France (80), Germany (80), Spain (24), Australia (22). The German Tigers (UHT) are fitted with the Osiris mast-mounted sight, also developed and produced by Sagem.

***

Australian Aerospace Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurocopter which is, in turn, a part of the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Group (EADS). Created in 2003 through the merger of Eurocopter International Pacific Limited and Australian Aerospace Pty Ltd, the company has evolved into a major defence supplier to the Australian Government. With over 1000 staff in Australia and New Zealand and access to the financial strength and expertise of Eurocopter and the EADS Group, the company is well positioned to manufacture and support civil and military helicopters in the Australia-Pacific region. In addition to its helicopter capabilities, Australian Aerospace has a long history of support for fixed wing military aircraft.

Sagem is a high-tech company in the SAFRAN group. It is a world or European leader in solutions and services in optronics, avionics, electronics and critical software for the civilian and military markets. Sagem is the European No. 1 and worldwide No.3 in INSs for aeronautic, naval and land applications. It is also the worldwide No.1 in helicopter flight controls and the European No.1 in optronic and tactical UAV systems. Present across the globe via the SAFRAN group's international network, Sagem and its subsidiaries employ 6000 people in Europe, South East Asia and North America.

Sagem is now the commercial name of the company Sagem Défense Sécurité.